[Slash]

Although two batteries are needed would the split relay be enough power to run an electric reel and  hot water Heatwave type heater or do I need to charge the batteries.

[NWH]

I have 2 on a B-B charger in the vehicle and also have an external plug 🔌 in outside the house with mains,I’ll be honest some have said it’s not enough but I don’t need to plug mine in very often at all.
I have electric reel etc and diesel heater getting that vehicle converted to 2 man middle of next month properly.

[Spruce]

Although two batteries are needed would the split relay be enough power to run an electric reel and  hot water Heatwave type heater or do I need to charge the batteries.

While some cleaners seem to make it work with a B2B charger (or split charge relay,) most of us just don't do enough mileage to completely recharge our leisure battery.

The other day there were two of us working from my van with the diesel heater going. We used 15 amps of battery charge that day from my leisure battery. My B2B battery charger was recharging my leisure battery at 8 amps on the way home, which was 10 miles away.  My battery monitor advised that I had charged my leisure battery by 3 amps by the time I got home.

If I went back to the area I was working in the day before, I might replace another 3 amps, which means I start my day with a deficit of 9 amps from the previous day. Battery recharging isn't straight forward. The fuller a battery gets, the lower the rate of charge it will accept. The lower the state of charge, the higher the charge it will accept. This is the nature of lead acid batteries.

So if my battery is 40 % charged (60% discharged) then my charge rate could be in the region of 8 to 10 amps doing that 10 miles home. But on short journeys (time and distance) you will always need to bench charge your batteries regularly.

I plug mine in every night.

 LifePO4 lithium batteries are able to accept a much higher rate of charge. My B2B battery charger is a 60amp unit. And that lithium battery will accept that charge rate. This means that I probably won't need to bench charge that battery. However, winter is another issue, as is price.

Why would I pay £600 for a 100 amp lithium battery when I manage quite well with a 100 amp leisure battery for £100; and I can recharge it when the temperatures are below freezing.

[dazmond]

Although two batteries are needed would the split relay be enough power to run an electric reel and  hot water Heatwave type heater or do I need to charge the batteries.

No...you ll need to charge your batteries every night all year round if you use hot water every day....

Unless you travel a ridiculous amount of miles to your work and back then the split charge relay won't be enough to replenish the batteries....

[Spruce]

Although two batteries are needed would the split relay be enough power to run an electric reel and  hot water Heatwave type heater or do I need to charge the batteries.

No...you ll need to charge your batteries every night all year round if you use hot water every day....

Unless you travel a ridiculous amount of miles to your work and back then the split charge relay won't be enough to replenish the batteries....

Totally agree Daz.

I often refer to that Australian RV magazine report I read years ago. To fully recharge a leisure battery in a motorhome, you would need to drive 750kms.

[NWH]

Well I must be an exception to that then because I do probably 60-80 miles a day and as I’ve said I can go weeks and weeks without the need to charge.

[dazmond]

Well I must be an exception to that then because I do probably 60-80 miles a day and as I’ve said I can go weeks and weeks without the need to charge.

10-15 miles a day  most days for me...your fuel bill must be huge!

Why is your work 30-40 miles away.?i couldn't  be arsed driving all that way every day!

[dazmond]

Your fuel bill must be £800 a month at least!

[NWH]

I probably use 120-130 of fuel a week usually it depends but it’s that as an average I would say.

[Matt.]

I also use a fair bit of fuel per week and do enough miles to recharge via a split relay…… but in everyone else’s case except nwh u will need to bench charge ur batteries to get them upto full charge.
Many a times if we have 2 vans on a site we will block one in with the other van and leave the engine running for maximum power to 2 pumps

When I read people can work all day off a bench charge am jealous coz I defo don’t get that luxury via a split relay.

Maybe 2-3 hours then u will see a bit drop off in flow from the pumps

[NWH]

Even with the mileage I do they’ve still told me I should still plug in most evenings but I’m not having any trouble since my wiring has all been sorted etc,initially after driving to first job I’m reading 13-7-9 maybe 14-1 then drops to 12-5-6 then I’m off to the next job topping up a small amount.
I wired my batteries up wrong and could have set the van on fire I was told all the wires were blackened and had to be replaced but since this has been done along with a new burner glow pin and service she works like she’s straight out the box.

[Splash & dash]

I probably use 120-130 of fuel a week usually it depends but it’s that as an average I would say.

You cannot be using the boiler much then we do  around 60-85 miles per week and ime putting £85-100 per week

[NWH]

I usually stick 110-120 in it at the start and that more or less gets me through that week,boilers on every day m8.

[Spruce]

Well I must be an exception to that then because I do probably 60-80 miles a day and as I’ve said I can go weeks and weeks without the need to charge.

............. and being in the south of the country, you must also spend a lot of time stuck in traffic jams or in slow moving traffic due to congestion. If your engine remains running, then that's even more charging time.

If you have 30 miles to get home on the motorway at 60mph, then your battery only gets 1/2 an hour charge, but if you can only average 30 mph, then your battery gets a full hour's charge.

The only time we can get a true reading of what our state of charge is, is only after the battery has rested for around 4 hours plus.

The other issue with lead acid batteries is that when not fully recharged, they tend to sulphate and lose capacity. So in theory, it's quicker to recharge a battery which has reduced capacity.

[NWH]

Not really a lot of congestion but I am driving a lot of the time at lower speeds and am only really reaching speeds of 60mph to and from work on the main roads,more like 50.

[Spruce]

Not really a lot of congestion but I am driving a lot of the time at lower speeds and am only really reaching speeds of 60mph to and from work on the main roads,more like 50.

I was just remarking how travel time would impact charging rate and using that as an example of comparison.

[NWH]

Thanks for all you’re info it’s helpful with the heaters and batteries etc.

[Frankybadboy]

we can do two full days with the heater and two reels and pumps drive a total of 10miles max    and get two days work from the 2 x 110amp batteries if i forget to charger them.

i do keep them charged up over night

[Spruce]

we can do two full days with the heater and two reels and pumps drive a total of 10miles max    and get two days work from the 2 x 110amp batteries if i forget to charger them.

i do keep them charged up over night

It's the 50% depth of discharge rule. With 2 x 110 amph batteries connected together, you have 220 amps worth of capacity and a useable amount of 110 amps. I don't believe using a diesel heater and 2 electric reels as well as 2 pumps is going to make much of a dent in 110 amps of capacity over 2 days.

But lead acid batteries do need to be fully recharged regularly. If you ask a couple of battery experts individually to define what regularly means, you will get 2 different answers.

To me, fully recharging a leisure battery daily is the ideal. I'm able to do that with little bother, so I do. However, if I had to remove my 105amp leisure battery and carry it to my shed to charge it, then I would probably reconsider what regularly meant to me.

My son-in-law often used to allow his 75amph battery to go flat as he forgot to charge it. That battery was still going strong after 4 years. Figure that out. He travelled 10 miles to us to fill up with water work and then another 5 to his work area. His split charge relay didn't keep his leisure battery fully charged, and all he used was a Shurflo pump and controller.

[Perfect Windows]

The thing I find bizarre about this is how far reality can diverge from theory.

Ten years ago I was working a two man setup, both working on pretty much full-flow. We didn't use valves so the pumps would be running for the entirety of each clean.  We averaged around 15 miles a day. The system was wired to the van batteries (2x70Ah). Never charged them bar via the alternator.

Ran like that for two years without a hitch before the batteries went. By my reckoning and with the things I've learned since then, that couldn't possibly have worked.

Vin